Sno Globe
by Medlie Skyth
Summary: Stevie Nicoles looks back on her experience of being stuck in a snow globe with Alex for three days strait. STALEX - Wizards of Waverly Place
1. Disappear

Sno Globe

What a lonely night.

Not that tonight was any different than previous nights. And, not that the nights before that were any different than any-

Well, you get the idea. Nothing as of recent has exactly sparked my interest. Being a wizard, it saddens me.

Sure; a few stray beasts here, couple pranks there... but that was all just for amusement. There was no real, exciting adventure as of recent. ...well, here I am, boring you with my pathetic life! And as much as I'm sure you're dying to hear about my personal piano lessons, I'd be much more entertained to tell you about my less common life. Why, just last Friday...

****Flashback****

"Alex! Alex my wand!" I shout, dodging flaming scythes and poisoned daggers from the enraged ninja we'd freed from the wacky-shack just moments ago to play the ULTIMATE prank on Alex's brother. ...needless to say things turned around quickly.

"Where?" She replies in a panic. Alex stumbles out of the way before the crazy ninja grasps her.

****Flashforward****

Yeah... we didn't really think that one out. There was _also_ that week before though...

Me and Alex were running from this totally wicked zombie king guy. It limped into the sandwich shop where Alex lives, and she may have insulted it's fashion sense. Hey! I could get with the whole un-dead look. What bugged me was the fact that his breath reeked of something god-awful. That comment plus what Alex said really set it off.

"Trust me; I highly doubt that guy's been anywhere near this place in at least 200 years!" She assures me.

You know how sometimes the clothes in stores, like forever 21, have the clothes in a circle thing? We were hiding in the middle of those.

Then mister zombie man came crashing in, moments later. Hahhh, good times!

The thing is, and this goes for Alex too, no matter where I go I always seem to be causing more trouble then I'm fixing. As a wizard, that means I'm neglecting my duties. And as an experienced rule-breaker myself- well, let me put it like this; me and Alex together will without a doubt cause the worlds end some day.

As much as I enjoy manipulating the piano with my candies and spells, risking the world's possible end sounds much more interesting.

Time to go find my disastrous partner in crime!

Ch 1: Disappear

Let's take a step back now... it's midnight, I'm in my pajamas in front of an enchanted piano and my hair looks like a dead dog. Alex, queen of the fashion world, would certainly not approve of my current state. No way could I (literally) appear in front of her looking like this!

Still, how dressed up do you really need to be to play a couple rounds of gravity ball? ...Maybe I'll text her before rushing over.

I awake later. My phone was still in my hands from when I fell asleep awaiting her response. It had only been fifteen minutes, according to my phone, since I sent the message. Although, it did feel like it'd been longer. Perhaps she's asleep? That must be it; since I've been at home there's probably nothing better for her to do!

"Maybe I'll check up on her in the morning..." I yawn before falling back into my blissful sleep.

The next day at school I wait for Alex at our locker (we share one because by the time I'd transferred to this cheap ass school, they didn't have any left). I didn't really expect her to be here right away on a Monday morning. Then again it's amazing when she gets here any morning. What I _didn't_ expect was the lack of her brother's appearance. Justin Russo withheld a perfect attendance record.

The final bell rings, and I had to go to class. After first block ends, I do a little checking around. Not only have Alex and Justin not shown up, but Max, their younger brother, was also nowhere to be found.

Finally I run into Harper on my way out of my lunch period.

"Hey Harper!" I call. She spins around.

"Stevie!" She panics, running up to me. "Have you seen-"

"Alex." I finish. "I haven't... I was hoping you'd know where she was."

"Why do you care?" She says, looking at me funny.

I glare at her "She's my friend too."

Harper ignores this. "Never mind. I haven't seen any of them for the past two days."

"Wait..." I interrupt. "Don't you live with the Russo's?"

"Oh, I do, but my family sent my aunt Miriam to town so I could take care of her." She explains. She was acting like normal Harper again. ...however _normal_ Harper can get. "Miriam has this disability and she can't really go to the bathroom by herself so-"

"I get it!" I interrupt again, not wanting her to go into detail. "Just... when's the last time you physically saw her?"

"This morning." She responds. I perk up. "I had to give her a foot bath."

"You had to give Alex a foot bath...?" I ask, slightly creeped out.

"No, Aunt Miriam." She corrects, making a face.

"This isn't working." I stress, and pull my bag from the locker.

The class bell sounds as I turn around and exit school premises.

"Stevie, you're gonna be late for fourth block." Harper warns.

"Don't count on it." I smirk, pull my wand from my boot, and as soon as I round the corner teleport myself to the wizard lair.

"Aaaaaalex?" I call, scrambling from the kitchen to upstairs.

"Hey! Alex! Boys! It's time to wake up!"

The door slowly opens, leading to Alex's room. It was a total disaster; clothes thrown in a chaotic mess, small nick-knacks knocked from their original positions. Some were even shattered and broken. There were burn marks splotching the walls wherever wasn't already broke.

"...Well." I sigh. "Nothing out of the ordinary here." Then exit the mess.

I examine every room to the best of my ability, but not a Russo to be found. Alex going missing is one thing, but for the entire house to be empty like this...

As much as I'd like to believe they were just on some random family vacation and didn't tell anyone, it wasn't possible. Alex should have answered my texts by now. I contemplated returning to school to get Harpers help, but she doesn't exactly like me. ...Oh god all this time spent thinking when Alex is in possible danger! What could Harper possibly do in a situation like this; find them with her fruit hat?

I was pretty much panicking at this point. But that was also taking up time! Time my friend may not have. I rush back down to the lair. I'd like to say it was my logical thinking kicking in; after you stop and think about it if there's anything that's gonna help me find her, it'd be there. In all truth, I was pretty much just scrambling around.

After rushing into the lair, I look for anything that might be out of the ordinary. To me, everything looked different. If I had the time I'd probably toy with some of these flashy wizard objects... I mean I'd only been in here a few times. I didn't really know what was supposed to be here, that being said.

"Maybe I should... uh..." I think aloud, scanning the room over carefully. I could start experimenting with some of the magical items. It was a better idea than just looking.

I pick up a lop-sided snow globe at the edge of the couch first. It was so shiny and sparkly... I was instantly mesmerized.

Unlike the ones you see at Christmas, this snow globe didn't have any Santa clause or snowy villages inside. Instead, just a few glued on rocks submerged in the water and endless glitter. When I gave it a quick shake, it almost looked like a rainbow snow storm! The hard glass shell absorbed the light from the wizard world which reflected beautifully off the dancing sparkles. And the more I shook, the more I felt myself being sucked in.

The sensation was spectacular! If Alex had this before she disappeared, there's no doubt she'd store at it endlessly. The mesmerizing feeling was becoming stronger. Alex wouldn't have the strength to pull away, so in my attempt to locate her, I remain gazing at the shiny globe.


	2. Sympathy

Ch 2: Sympathy

By the wave of my frozen wand we are returned to her house. I don't exactly know where I returned the boys and Teresa to, but at least we escaped the snowy realm.

As much as I hang out with Alex, I try to avoid her family members. Nothing personal against them, it's just I know if they met me, well, they're the type who'd wanna sit down and meet the whole family over dinner or something cheesy like that, and that was something both me AND Alex wanted to prevent. Hopefully Justin hadn't seen me talking to Alex in the snowy realm, otherwise he might start questioning.

Back to right now, though. It was ten thirty AM, and we were late for third block. Since I teleported both me and Alex into her room, we quickly change our tattered and ripped clothes to whatever random pieces we could find on Alex's floor before zapping ourselves to school, being careful not to make any eye contact. Things were already awkward enough as they were. From the corner of my eye I see Alex scrambling to grab her hair brush while I pull on a pair of black fingerless gloves. There wasn't really the time to do much more, because we both heard angry footsteps stomping up the stairs.

I grab my wand from her dresser top and quickly zap us outside the school building. Alex looks at me irritated for not giving her any warning.

No one noticed us as we snuck into school and stopped at our locker.

"You want me to walk you to class?" I offer, softly touching her shoulder.

"I think I'll be okay." She assures me, shrugging me off. "I'm still a little shaken up, but... I'll be okay."

"Yeah, that yeti was pre-tty vicious." I agree and turn around after grabbing a single notebook from the locker.

"That..." She says as I was already walking away. I stop, but keep my back to her. "That wasn't... what I was talking about."

I ignore her, and continue walking. She must have left for class because I didn't hear anything after.

~~~(When you walk away, you don't hear me say, please... don't go.)~~~

I enter my class: Keyboarding one. My teacher glares at me momentarily before disappearing into his office. Apparently Mister teacher isn't used to new student showing up late. We'll fix that little problem later. For now, I slouch in my chair and plug in a keyboard from the pile.

The final bell rings. Even after sleeping through half my fourth block I'm still exhausted. Alex must be too; we'd only slept maybe two or three hours tops while trapped in the snow globe. ...unless she fell asleep in her class too.

By the time I arrive at the locker, Alex has already beat me there. Poor girl looked like a train wreck.

"Dude! What happened to your hair!" I ask picking a loose strand from her face and dropping it behind her ear.

"Right, because you totally look in tip-top shape." She sarcastically rolls her eyes. "Who are you to talk?"

"Well I don't know about you but I could really use a nap right about now." I laugh, shutting the locker once I retrieve my things. "I'm going to bed."

"Yeah, rub it in." She glares. We walk toward the buses, which had already started leaving. "I have stupid chores before I can sleep. And probably a lecture on why I'm not allowed to touch anything in the lair ever again. And then even more stupid chores after that!"

"Hello!" I remind. "You're a wizard! Can't you just use magic to-"

"No, Stevie I can't! I can't use magic at a PUBLIC, RESTAURANT. And even if I COULD, my dumb parents wouldn't let me ANYWAY." She snaps.

"Whatever." I respond shyly, turning my head away. "Not my problem anyway. Crabby." I throw in.

That set her off. "I am NOT CRABBY!" She ironically declares and stomps her foot.

A few students looked at her momentarily, but continue walking to their bus.

I raise my eyebrow, challenging that statement, then give her an 'I told you so' smirk before walking off.

"Oh... WHATEVER!" She shouts after me and starts in the opposite direction. Until, of course, she realizes her bus is the other way and stomps up to it. Max and Justin, and a few other annoyed kids, were yelling for her to board, already being three minutes late. The bus driver was also getting very impatient.

Why I stopped, I don't know. But I watched Alex drag her exhausted body onto the bus. ..._maybe_ I felt a little guilty. And... _maybe_ I was a little crabby too.

"WAIT!" I call before the driver closes the doors. She slams the breaks, and the students groan.

"Shut up!" I snap at the group, as if yelling to a pack of hungry dogs. Everyone quiets.

"Common kid, what are you doing? I got a program to watch in half an hour and I'm already gonna miss half of it." The agitated bus lady informs me.

"Stevie?" Alex questions, not yet in her seat.

I look at her apologetically, and then face the bus driver. "It's alright Misses Sandburg. My parents left me a note in the office today saying to go home with Alex."

What a mistake that was.

After sitting on the bus for 15 minutes with Alex and Harper, we finally arrive at the sandwich shop. For Alex sake I came in with them. Only Alex and Harper knew I was a wizard, so the rest of the family couldn't lecture Alex on getting them trapped inside a snow globe with me there, I figured.

Once inside, I help out with Alex's chores. I washed tables for a whole five minutes before the boys took over. It was such hard work, but hey, it was for a friend. I'm just that nice.

Now the three of us sat at a table in the corner.

"Alex Russo I have-" Teresa starts angrily, and then notices me. "Uh... who's your new friend?"

"I was wondering the same thing..." Justin grunts to himself. Had he seen me?

I attempt to avoid Justin's gaze before he can remember or recognize me.

Teresa looks at Justin for a quick second at note of his odd comment, then returns her attention to our group.

"As long as she's here, give her a dish rag. She can help out." Miss Russo suggests.

"Aw, common!" I moan. "I already washed, like, three tables!" I raise both my hands to show her my evidence; my fingerless gloves were soaked!"

Alex laughs, and Harper looks away.

Teresa rolls st her daughters reaction. "As much as I encourage Alex to make new friends, I can't have them coming in and distracting her from her work!"

Alex lets out an annoyed 'shut up, mom.' groan.

Teresa ignores this. "I'm sorry but... either grab a sponge or leave."

With that her mother walks into the kitchen. I look at Alex, who had her sleepy head resting in her arms, looking up at me pleadingly.

"...okay fine!" I give. "Alex, where do you keep the dish rags?"

"Like I know." She yawns.

Figures.

"Harper?" I question, but she was already walking away at that point.

Finally I got lazy Alex up. With her and Harper serving the food and me cleaning up, and the guys making all the sandwiches, things really got done fast! We got the customers in and out fairly quickly. I couldn't help but notice, though, that Justin was keeping a close eye on me. I was almost positive at this point he knew SOMEONE else was in that snowy realm with Alex, and his guess was me. Considering we'd just returned from there and now this troublemaker from his school is suddenly helping out around the shop.

Harper took it the wrong way, unfortunately. Her crush on Alex's brother was entirely obvious, and her jealousy was making her very, VERY mad at me. Great. Not only did I have suspicious Justin watching my every move, but now Alex's bff was on the prowl. I had to be on my toes at all times, which made this helping out thing even less enjoyable.

By the time the day was done, it felt like it had been forever. I was ready to pass out. The Russo's let me stay the night, generously, after I'd helped all day and was 'such a positive influence on Alex! She never does this much work around here!' yadda yadda yadda.

We were alone in her room now. It was only me and Alex, thankfully. I was becoming very paranoid with so many people watching me.

"I've done enough work to last me my whole life!" I complain, and then drop onto the bed next to my friend, who was also exhausted.

"Yeah I'm not doing that again for about a week." She sighs, then turns to me. "Thank you, by the way." Alex says solemnly. "It's been such a long, hard day. I was meaning to tell you earlier-"

"You did." I remind her.

She stops to think. "...really?"

"Uh, yeah!" I laugh. She still held a worried look.

"Like I said, it's been a long day. There was something else I was meaning to talk to you about too..." She mentions.

I was afraid she'd bring that up.

"You're absolutely right." I respond. "It has been a crazy long day... with the woofs, and the school, and the sandwiches..."

"Stevie." She says intently.

"You need sleep. We both need sleep! I mean... you were nearly eaten alive." I remind. I did have a point.

She looks at me sadly. "Stop trying to distract my train of thought. I can't sleep until I get this off my..."

She was out cold.

Thank goodness sleep over took her. Come to think of it, I was getting a little drowsy too. Maybe I should pull my legs onto the bed... no, no. Too much effort. I'll just sleep half falling off it'll be... just... just fine. I'll just...


	3. Sick of You

Ch 3: Sick of you

It's Friday. Friday! It's been three days since we'd returned. Three very normal days. The school bell lets us out and I board Alex's bus once again. Hopefully this weekend won't be as crazy and obnoxious as last. ...I suppose that's a little ironic, because just last weekend I was looking for excitement and trouble.

Don't get me wrong here, I mean, I love hanging out with Alex. Things just get really crazy when she and I are together. We're a magnet for trouble! With that in mind, I feel it's about time to head home. Her family has probably forgotten about the whole snow globe thing by now, I'm sure, after all the little disasters we've caused throughout the time I've been over. Plus they didn't know I'd been sleeping on a pile of laundry in Alex's room the past couple nights.

All these facts, plus Harper constantly watching me, yeah; I'm gonna get going now.

As I assumed, Alex wasn't about to let me leave.

"That movie was sooo funny!" Alex laughs as we exit the theatre and enter the lobby. "Funnier than that time Justin grew a talking zit! Hahah!" She laughs in memory. ...talking zit?

"Yep, hahaha good times!" I say. "...see ya!" I add, then turn around the corner of a soda machine before pulling my wand from my sleeve.

"Huh- what?" Alex says. Here we go...

She quickly rounds the corner after me and grabs onto my hand. I cringe at the pain from under my glove, and she quickly lets go, remembering the wounds were still there.

"Stevie where are you going...?" She says quietly. "My house is that way." She points in the other direction with her wand.

Aw, I just wanna go. I didn't wanna do this! This wasn't gonna be easy. "I forgot to tell you, heh. I'm going back home." I nod, but her attitude doesn't change. "That's, uh, this way." I inform her, raising my wand and waving it back and forth.

She again grips my hand, and I slightly squeal.

She hadn't realized it this time. Instead, she was preoccupied with worry and distraught. "Whoa whoa whoa! W-what's the rush?" She says, trying to think. The fear goes away as she thinks she has an idea of why. Her carefree smile returns. "Is this because my mom tried to feed you that turkey sub? I told her you're a vegetarian! It's not gonna happen again-"

"Alex please!" I stomp, breaking my hand away. "This isn't just about a stupid sandwich! There's a lot going on and I need to get away from it."

Y-yeah. It was just all that stuff. With... everything I mentioned before. There really was nothing more to it. Nothing else. ...yeah.

...no.

As much as I'd like to make myself believe it was just a ton of stupid little things like that, the truth is, since I've been spending more time with her, things have been changing. It was confusing me... I needed to get away, and I didn't want to wait and explain things. I needed time to myself, to get away from all the craziness that could be altering my thoughts. That could very well be altering _her_ thoughts. Or not be affecting me at all. Staying here wasn't gonna make things any clearer though, that was for certain. I have to go. _Now_.

"So... what is it about?" She asks innocently, breaking me from my thoughts.

"I just need to go home." I answer hastily. I warp out before she's able to say anything more.

She'd be fine without me. She did have Harper to do fun crazy stuff with, after all. ...well, when her aunt leaves anyway. Whenever that is...

Turns out she was more upset about it then I'd figured. It was for the better. We needed time apart. Telling myself that made me feel less guilty about ditching her. Truthfully, I was kinda afraid at what would happen had I spent more time with her. I'd been suppressing the memories of what happened in that cold snowy realm, which Alex picked up after I'd continuously avoided the conflict.

Yes, spending more time with her was about as dangerous as spending more time gazing into that globe. Had I pulled away when I felt myself being literally pulled in to its dazzling, sparkling interior... had I known what would happen had I let myself get so close...

Right. Back on the subject of reality, COMPLETELY ignoring the subject of that globe now, I had a very persisting problem... I couldn't exactly _go_ home like I'd said. So the question is, where to sleep?

"Looks like I'll be chilling here for the night." I announce to myself, looking down an empty alleyway.

After forming a totally epic box fort- no, box CASTLE, I curl up and attempt to sleep before the thoughts of the snow globe return to my head. ...nope. No such luck for me.

****Flashback****

Alex and I lay shivering cold on opposite ends of the mountainside cave. The only warmth supplied was a mocking cold blanket of snow, which blew in whenever the wind changed directions. The bitter sprays came often, stinging our already open wounds as we coughed and hacked from the hypothermia.

The adventure started much before this, though.

The globe had pulled me in. One moment I'm staring into a glass sphere, and the next thing I know I'm standing in the center of a glistening snowy plane. Was I... _inside _the glass orb?

My wind hit my skin hard, and I instantly felt cold. What a day to wear shorts. I shove my wand in my jeans pocket, and start my trek towards one of the grey rock mounds in the distance. It seemed closest, which was a terrible misconception because I was walking for hours.

Still no sign of Alex, or anyone. Or anything. Still, I figured I'd search a little longer before exiting the orb and checking out something else. I do end up reaching the rock mound, which curved up like a bridge. I walk under, but there's nothing.

"Ok, I'm starting to get seriously cold here."

With that declaration, I reach into my pocket for my wand. Time to whip up a cozy fire!

...my... wand?

Oh right. I forgot I busted a whole through these sticking my wand in there too many times. What good are pockets when they don't even work?! At least I hadn't gone through with that idea I had of buying myself a pocket ninja. The free unicorn pecans were so tempting though...

That was my favorite wand damn it! Ah well. Guess there's always the old-fashioned way.

"_This cold makes me tire_

_So grant me a fire!"_

I point to the hole I dug out in the snow.

"Ow!"

The light froze at my fingertips and pained me with a zap. What the...?

The magic had literally FROZE at my fingertips! The numbness in my hands was preventing me from using magic. So, now what?

I sat against the inside of the rock. After all that walking, I really did need a break.

****Flashforward****

I awoke in the morning, and disperse my epic box fort. It started to cave in a little due to the rain last night.

"Oh crap!" I say, looking at the sun. It was probably almost eleven judging by its position. I was late for the play! Why don't those box forts come with clocks! ...Not that I can read clocks that aren't digital...

Harper's play was today. In hopes to make amends with her, I so generously volunteered my Saturday morning to play piano at her one-woman play. ...okay, and _maybe_ I had a little community service to make up.

I enter to a full audience. Of one. Just dumb mister Larrytate, undoubtedly here to make sure I actually show up.

"_Keep me in tune_

_Or this song is doomed"_

I point my wand at the piano backstage while Harper was setting up some last minute props.

The spell works great! All I have to do is sit and move my fingers; no matter what key I hit it always plays the right note! I didn't have to practice or anything so this'll be a breeze!

Now, I'm sure you're thinking 'oh, well how do you know _when_ you gotta hit the notes? How _long_ you gotta hold them?

Like the apple commercial says, there's a spell for that!

"_Charm these Mentos_

_Keep the tempo"_

I recite, now pointing my wand at the pack of candies I placed on a nearby table. Eating one will allow me to play in whatever speed the song's in. I carry them with me, since I don't really know what else rhymes with tempo, and my Keyboarding One class meets every other school-day.

The first half of the show ran smoothly. ...as smoothly as one of Harper's self-written plays can get. During intermission I guess Harper got hungry and ate the Mentos I accidentally left on her prop table. Once she was back on, every line she read was chanted in ¾ time. ...at least her singing was perfectly aligned with the music! And I still received my credit for showing up.

"Thank, You, For. Come, ing Mis. Ter, Larr, y. taaaate." Harper says to her audience, then shoots me a glare. Her head moved in three quick jolting motions before our eyes met, which made it that much more creepy.

"Eh... you're, welcome?" He replies, then leaves.

I'm not too worried about it, besides the fact that Harper now hates me even more then she did. I follow the fat man out in a hurry before she jabs me with her prop knife ¾ times. It was okay; the spell will wear off as soon as she drinks some water.

I'm back out in the rain. I figured I'd head off to an arcade or somewhere where I couldn't get myself in anymore trouble. It was a long, cold walk through the bellowing rain storm. That almost reminds me of...

****Flashback****

I leaned against the cold rock. I was completely at a stuck point here, and what's worse I don't even know if anyone is even here.

"I can't use magic, I'm stuck in a stupid snow globe... the only thing I can do now is-"

"...is that...?"

A voice says from some direction. Could I be hearing things? It sounded like...

I peek around the back end of the rock to find Alex's cute chocolate eyes, peeking right back.

"Stevie!" She rejoices, throwing her arms around my waste. She was freezing! "Stevie I was so afraid I'd never see you again! Oh, thank god you're here!"

"It's great to see you too Alex." I smile, still holding on to her in attempt to warm her up a little. "What's going on?" I ask, rubbing her arms.

"Ummm..." She starts nervously. "I _may_ have sucked my family into a snow globe."

May have?

"Where's everyone else?" I ask, moving my hands further up her arms. I was still rubbing, but she wasn't getting any warmer.

"Ah... I don't know." She admits. "I guess we all landed in different spots. But I do know how we can get out!" She starts.

"Yeah, me too." I reply, having an idea of my own.

"Where's your wand?" We say simultaneously.

Oh, shit.

She stops in her place and looks at me with confusion. "Well, I didn't have it on me when I came in. Y-you..."

Then she sees my fingers wiggling out the hole in my pocket, and realizes the terrible fate that I'm trying to convey.

"Oh... oh no!" She mutters, and her expression becomes dark.

"Alex I'm sorry. But... I only walked in a strait path! You can still see the footprints." I point down the snowy plane.

"And you're sure you had it when you came in?" She confirms. Come to think about it...

"No." I say in my thought process. I was thinking I left it in the lair, but no.

She looks down.

"I mean- yes!" I say, now as an answer to her question. She locks her eyes to mine. "I... warped to you room, then ran downstairs, and... yeah! I put it in my pocket on my walk over here!" I recall.

"So at least it's here." She nods, then looks over the direction I came. "Unless you still have feeling in your fingers, we should start walking."


	4. Falling Down

Ch 4: Falling down

****Flashforward****

The arcade was boring.

****Flashback****

After walking for what seemed to be hours, we hit the end of my tracks.

"...well where is it?" Alex asks, as if this were some magic trick and I was about to pull it from behind her ear or something.

I look at her briefly, and then scan my eyes across the empty snow. My wand was nowhere to be found.

"If I knew, would we have been walking this whole time looking for it?" I scold.

Then I took a closer look at the path we'd walked. There were my footprints headed toward the rock, then mine and Alex's that were headed to this spot, and...

"Are _those_ footprints?" I say, spotting the paw prints that were heading in several scattered directions along our path.

"Uh, yes Stevie. Those are yours. We followed them out here, smart one."

"No!" I remark. My voice came out louder than expected. I might have been a little fearful, along with the growing agitation of my friend.

It took her a moment to see what I was talking about, but she soon looked to the ground and saw. "...oh."

"Smart one." I comment. "I saw some of those further back too actually."

"Then why didn't you say anything?!" She freaks.

"Well I wasn't sure if I was the only one of us seeing them!" I reason. Honestly, I figured she'd actually been looking for my wand and saw them too, but I couldn't tell her that.

I analyze the situation. "Ok... there's obviously some sort of four-legged creature following us. And... There are maybe... three or four of them heading in the direction we've been going... And they look like they scatter here..." I point out, still looking at the ground. "Huh. Well that doesn't make sense. That would mean-"

"I don't wanna stay here!" She blurts.

Before I can react she grabs my wrist and starts tugging me back the way we came.

I don't budge. "No, we already went that way! If we wanna find my wand, we gotta follow these tracks."

No response.

Alex?

"Found your wand." She swallows. I spin around, and what I find isn't want I wanted to see.

Alex, with her death-grip on my wrist, was frozen in her spot. Three snow woofs stood in front of her, evenly spaced with the middle one slightly in front of the others. They stalked us here.

"Wait a sec..."

In the mouth of the middle woof held my wand. What was this, a game of fetch? It growled, and unfortunately the skimpy pups hadn't followed us for a simple game. A look around and it became apparent that we were circled. I don't know what fearful thoughts were going through Alex head. Maybe the typical 'if you don't move they can't see you!' technique. I, however, figure that these woofs have to be starving. They probably live off of eating each other, which is hard to believe because there was hardly any meat on their bodies. That being said, I _do_ know what was going through their minds... lunch.

They flare their teeth, challenging us to make a move. Alex's small cold fingernails were digging into my skin at this point. I felt like freaking out, but I knew Alex needed me...

"Aroooo!" The beast cries. Our eyes widen, and I'm not willing to figure out what he was telling his pack. Right as they begin closing in, I search for an opening.

Alex was still stunned, which actually made things easier. Our only chance was to escape. Just wait for an opening, and-

"RUN!" I shout. This snaps Alex out of her trance and I latch onto her wrist. We slide through a hole in the pack and, by order by their leader, they all spin around and give chase.

How we outran snow woofs is a complete wonder. Perhaps their lack of food brought down their natural sense of scent. The snow storm helped out too. The pack decreased one by one, until we'd lost them all.

"I think... we can stop r-running..." I pant.

No response.

I stop and look around. Where's Alex?

It was impossible to backtrack. I had scattered in every different direction and assumed Alex could still see me, and had the energy to follow. How stupid am I? There's no telling how long she's been stuck here. On top of that, the snow storm was viscous. The only way to see the tracks that weren't completely covered would be to get on the ground and crawl after them.

God I hope those woofs didn't catch Alex... Is that why they stopped following me...?

I do my best to find the route I came. Maybe they dropped my wand while chasing us? Time to face the facts Stevie... I've lost my wand, my direction, and my best friend. What's the point of hope anymore?

I wander aimlessly... meander the snowy plains, thinking to myself how bad I've screwed up. Only after hours did I come across two small figures in the distance. At first I assumed they were the deadly woofs. As I dare myself closer, the bodies became apparent.

At last. It was Alex, and her brother Justin. I was so relieved to see them... I was practically in tears!

I rush forward a few steps, and then stop. Justin doesn't know me... I run over the consequences in my mind. What help could he possibly be? Had he had his wand, we'd be out of here by now. He and Alex were just standing there, and although I couldn't hear anything, the way Justin was wagging his finger at his sister, I figure he's giving her a nice long lecture on why they're in this situation.

I didn't want him taking up all our search time with boring speeches, so I back up to the point where if they saw me, they wouldn't be able to make out my figure.

"Hope this works..." I comment to myself. I guess the hope part came back to me.

At that, I get to my hands and knees, take a few practice steps, and once I'm ready extend my neck upwards and-

"Arrooooooor!"

At first the two just stopped and stared. Then one pushed the other and took off in the opposite direction. The other was at a standstill, but started running a second later.

I stand up, and give chase to the shorter figure.

****Flashforward****

School on Monday was hectic. Harper was still upset about me screwing up her play, so I tried to avoid her all day. Unfortunately this meant I was forced away from Alex too, since Harper clung to her all day. This persists until third block.

The bell rings right as I enter the classroom. For me, that was early.

I was surprised to see Alex in my seat. She was at my keyboard and had her headphones on while tapping a few keys curiously.

I make the kid next to her move and sat down, then tap her on the shoulder.

At first she didn't do anything. I tap her again, and this time she spins around and rips off her earphones angrily.

"I'm trying to fucking do something will you- STEVIE!" She rejoices, realizing it was me. Her face flushed, most likely from embarrassment, and she gave me a hug.

"Hmhm! Hey there Alex!" I laugh. I wonder if she was having a bad day, her last comment as my evidence. "What are you doing here?"

She told me she was failing her math class, and her guidance councilor suggested she take a performing arts class, 'to get that pesky elective requirement out of the way', and... here she is!

****Flashback****

"Will you listen!" I call after my fearful friend, a few feet ahead of me. "I'm not a snow woof damn it! It's me, Stevie!"

"How do I know you're not just a snow wolf trying to trick me?" She asks, still running.

I finally catch up and jump at her. We fall to the ground in a tumble motion.

"...really?" I say bluntly. She looks down, and if that wasn't enough explanation for her, "Do you think woofs can talk anyway?"

"Actually I know a few wear wolfs." She argues.

Touché.

"And by the way, there _was_ a wolf after me. I heard it howling, and you chasing me down like that-"

"That was me." I admit.

"So you are a wolf?" She freaks, and falls right back down.

"No! I mean I howled at you because I saw you with Justin and wanted to split you up."

"Why the hell would you do that?" She scolds. Her expression was still tense, but in an angry way instead of her previous 'oh my god Stevie's a woof and she's gonna eat me' look. "We were in the middle of thinking up a way out of here!"

Oops.

"I... thought... it looked like he was scolding you!" I say defensively. "But... what did you guys come up with?" I ask in attempt to change the subject. "Wait, you didn't tell him I was here, right?"

"It didn't come up." She replies. That's good at least. "We were talking about the physics of our glass confinements. " She explains. "And that we may be able to break the surface."

"...it didn't come up in conversation?" I ponder. "He didn't ask if you'd found anyone else, or why you were running away, or... anything?"

"That's not the problem." She points out.

"Ar-ahr-aroooo!" A sound echoes. We had a different problem on our hands at the moment. ...did my howl attract this beast to us by chance?

"Yes, Stevie, I get it. You sound just like a wolf, congratulations. Now can you be serious so we can-"

"As much as I wish it were, that sound wasn't me." I inform. She looks at me fearfully.

"Th-then..."

Then, like before, we see three snow woofs appear in front of us, this time no stick. I'm not waiting around to be ambushed again.

Instead of splitting up, we stay together; I held Alex's hand in fear of leaving her behind again. True that there was no snowy blizzard this time, it was also a hindrance on our part. The dogs could clearly keep their beady eyes on us this way.

After sprinting for a good two or three minutes, I come to realize the snow wooves' tactics. They conserved their energy, and, staying a safe but visible distance from us, waited for their prey to fall over from exhaustion. Alex was at this point, and while I slowed to keep at her pace, the dogs began their gain.

"Y-you... o... okay?" I ask, taking note of her harsh breathing and watching it disperse into the cold air, being pulled away by the wind.

Air... wind... What was she saying earlier about physical surroundings?

"Go." She breaths, then slows to a limp.

Sorry, not happening. "I'm not about to leave you here!" I gasp.

"Hahhhroooo-ooo-oooo!" The lead woof calls, and Alex collapses.


	5. Tell Me Somthing I Don't Know

Ch 5: Tell me something I don't know

There was nothing else to do, no other option, then to pick my friend up, sling her icy body over my shoulder, and continue on. With that, I ran to my full ability, knowing that if I put enough distance between me and the pack they would go back to their slow chase. By that time, I was about ready to fall.

"Stevie... what are you doing?" Alex asks, coming to.

"I told you, I'm not gonna leave you behind."

"You're... you're warm. Stevie's warm..." She laughs before her voice trails off. It was obvious that she was still woozy.

I would respond, but I barely had the energy to continue on as I was. Better she fall back asleep anyway.

Where was I headed? There was a large mountain in the distance. The wooves' wouldn't be able to climb the sharp rock with their slippery padded paws, I figure, so getting up it was my best bet. As I ran, and my sight blurred, it almost seemed like it was getting smaller.

Some how I managed to be out of sight of the snow woofs. Had they given up? I don't know. I figured they still followed by sent. For that reason I didn't stop, but continued forward at a steady walk.

"Wake up." I order, placing my friend on the ground, semi dragging her across. "We're done running, we're walking now."

"No." She protests. "Put me down."

"Sweetie?" I remind. "We already established this. I'm not letting you go. Now the least you can do is try to walk."

I let go of her shoulders momentarily before she starts falling. No use.

"Please..." I beg. Sure enough I try again, and she slowly limps alongside me. I stay at her speed, to spot her in case she loses balance again.

"Yes, very good Alex! Keep it up, you're doing great! One step at a time now-"

"I'm not two." She reminds, irritant of my tone. She was talking, and thinking strait. That was satisfaction enough for me.

Only a few minutes later had I seen the pack. We weren't far from the mountains now, and the dogs were charging.

"Alright- you know what? We don't have time for this." I sigh, and pick up my suffering friend.

She clung around my neck. "No, no..." She mutters, and then decides to climb down.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" I ask, holding her hands and letting her lean on me for support.

She started ahead faster though, and I decide it'll be okay. It didn't change the fact that staving snow woofs were hot on our trail.

More time passes, and the dogs were practically on our heels. Alex was struggling to keep up, but we were just seconds away from the mountains! She ran at her full strength, but so did the pursuing beasts. It was do or die, survival of the fittest. The dogs had given up on me at this point; I leap up the mountain side, and force myself up.

"You're almost there!" I shout. As she came up to the edge I reach my hand out to grab hers...

And miss by centimeters. The lead woof had her by the foot, and she was quickly snatched back.

From my position, I lift a medium sized chunk of rock and hurl it at the pack. It hits one and the beast falls; not getting up. The others run away instantly, and I jump down.

I kneel at my friend's side. She had a gouge in her shoulder and some claw marks down her face, but other than that it looks as though the dogs hadn't gotten to her too bad. Just a few more surface scratches that might get infected if they aren't treated.

After checking her pulse, I carry her up the side of the mountain, into a cliff-side cave I'd discovered a few feet above. It was high enough that the wooves' wouldn't be able to leap it. On the other hand, the wind was blowing directly inside, blasting us with whatever snow it picked up.

"Unn..." I hear from the other corner of the room. We had been there for half an hour and finally Alex was coming to.

"Are you... are you awake?" I ask, approaching her.

"Y... yeah." She responds, and sits upright. Her eyes flutter open, and I'm relieved. "It's so cold outside."

Well... at least she was alive, right?

"Dear... I'm sorry but... we aren't outside yet. We're still trapped in a snow globe." She looks at me blankly. "But... we're gonna get out of this, alright? I promise you we're gonna-"

"Why?" She says, still expressionless. "We're gonna die here, so what's the point in leaving if we're already dead?"

Poor, woozy, girl.

"Excuse me, but I haven't given up yet. No one's gonna die, you understand me?" I clarify.

"But, you, see, what happens is... we all die." She chimes. At that, she stands and paces. "Let's just say, that Stevie's wand is still out there, and not a broken chew toy. What are the odds of Stevie and Alex finding Stevie's wand? And what are the odds of us not getting eated while looking for Stevie's wand?"

Yeah, she wasn't in her right mind, but she had a point. "Max might have his wand." I reason, trying to give her some hope to hold onto.

"How do we know everyone hasn't been eated?" She reasons.

As terrible as it was that she was like this... how cute! 'Stevie's wand'... 'eated'... I couldn't help but giggle at her sloppy adorable speech.

"And if they _weren't_ eated how do we know they haven't starved to death or froze to death?"

"Girl-"

"And that's exactly what am gonna happen to Stevie and Alex." She concludes. I wait to be sure she's finished her sentence.

"...girl, you're probably right." I say getting to my feet. She probably wouldn't remember what I'm saying anyway, even if we do get out of here alive. "Yeah, Alex. We're probably never gonna get out of here, and we might just die like this." I continue. "But, I don't mind."

She looks into my eyes, and I nod.

"Nope. I don't mind at all." I smile, anticipating her question. "You know why?"

"Cause Stevie's going crazy?" She guesses.

Yeah you're one to talk...

"It's because I have the honor of spending the last of my days by your side, in the company of my best friend."

My comment causes her to smile hugely. She looks down and her cheeks redden.

"Aw... Stevie!" She giggles. Her reaction was more adorable then her slurred speech.

I was sincere, so there's no confusion. What I said to her... it wasn't just to be nice and make her smile before she drifts off into her lazy sleep, possibly to her death. She is my best friend, and there's no other way I'd wanna die then on a fantastic adventure with her.

She opens her eyes again, and scoots closer. I guess she wasn't about to sleep just yet.

"I gotta tell you something..." She whispers.

"Yeah, anything." I assure her, but she looks troubled now.

Her eyes were closed again, and she looked wobbly, like she was about to fall over.

"Umm... you okay?" I ask in a worried tone. "What's wrong? What's this about?"

She stood now, which concerned me. She seemed fine enough to walk, and I follow her as she leans on the edge of the cavern.

"I... I can't tell you. Never mind." She decides. She looked like she was struggling again, but for a different purpose. "I'm sorry I even brought it up. And believe me I wanna tell you, but I don't wanna lose your respect."

There was a battle going on in her head. She was thinking rationally again; this was good. But now she was forced to hide something from me, and couldn't come to make a decision.

"I just can't..."

"Is this about Harper?" I guess. She looks up at me horrified. Was it...?

"What I meant when I said you were _my_ best friend, I didn't mean like _we_ were bestties. I know you and Harper have been friends for a long time..."

The look disappears. "Stevie, no. That's not what this is about." She informs me. "I'm... not entirely sure what this is about myself, but more then something trivial as that."

If I weren't so concentrated on her secret, I may have been offended at her implying our friendship 'trivial'.

"I never should have brought it up." Alex repeats, then slouches to the ground.

She was struggling... "It's okay Alex. I'll just, forget you ever said anything, okay?"

She looks at me.

"See? This conversation never happened."

She seemed content once again, and let herself fall into her sleep. It was probably night time anyway, although the light in the orb stayed the same.

Despite what I said, I couldn't push the thought out of my head. What was Alex keeping from me? What didn't she want me to know? I saw how she reacted when I mentioned Harper. Was there something about her that she didn't want me to know? She was so flustered over this thing, and by the looks of it she was ready to take it to the grave. I'd really hate to force it out of her, but, um, did I mention she's dying? She's dying, I'm trapped, and I'll never know.

Before thinking any further into it, I rest myself and sleep by my friend's side.

Now I was really stuck. The second I lay down, Alex pick herself up and crawls to her own corner of the cave. Shivering... hacking... yet she found the strength to move away from me. I'd screwed something u[; that was the only explanation I could come up with. Why? What did I do to deserve this treatment? I came looking for her when she and her family went missing. I carried her from the snowy planes to safety, when there were a hungry pack of woofs on our backs.

She mentioned something about not wanting to lose my respect. If this was her way of doing it, then her big secret better be that she had some deadly disease and she doesn't want me to catch it. I highly doubt it, and I was more than upset with her at this point.

No more thinking. It hurt too much. I decide sleep is the best thing for me at this point. As I drift off, I whisper my last painful thoughts; "Am I gonna die this way?"


	6. Summer's Not Hot

Ch 6: Summer's Not Hot

The bright rainbow snowflakes glistened as they poured into the cavern. It was... morning? My hands stung for some reason, but I couldn't see from the blinding colors that filled the once dark confides.

"...Alex?" I moaned, still half asleep. "Alex are you alive?"

Finally my vision adjusts, and I fixate my gaze on the girl in the corner. Still breathing.

"That's a shame." I sigh to myself, and then casually glance at my bloody palm before returning to my rest.

...bloody palm?

****Flashforward****

It's been a while since I'd focused on the real world. I'd been so preoccupied with the past; I've nearly forgotten what's been happening the past few days in the real world.

To recap, I messed up Harpers play, went to the arcade, Alex joined my piano keyboarding class, and now we were headed to lunch, in the middle of that class right now.

I receive my tray from the lunch lady, which contained slop with a side of slop. A meal at its finest. All there's left to do is find a seat next to Alex.

"Found it" I announced aloud. That boy from keyboarding was sitting next to her again, bugging the crap out of her. I force him away and take my rightful place.

"What did you do that for?" Alex asks, slightly annoyed.

"Cause I wanted to sit next to you." I answer with a smirk.

She looks away uneasy.

"It's alright. We're not gonna talk about anything that's gonna make you uncomfortable. I just thought-"

"That's the problem!" She starts out of nowhere.

Instead of pouting, I look at her silently for an explanation.

"You're two afraid to confront me, and now you're treating me differently and avoiding me at school and-"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" I interrupt. "First off, I'm not avoiding you. I'm avoiding _Harper_, who just happens to be with you every second of the day now. Secondly,"

She chomps on her food and looks down. Well at least we got that misconception out of the way.

"Secondly..." I continue. "If you have something you wanna talk about then for god sakes say it!"

"I tried damn it!" She snaps, then tones it down a little. "You kept making up excuses."

Now I just felt bad, watching her fight back tears.

"And it's just so confusing! I can't, tell if you wanna be friends or if I've completely lost your respect at this point."

"Alex... I do wanna be friends." I say, gazing into her eyes with sympathy and taking her hands.

"...it doesn't seem like it sometimes. Like now." She looks down shyly.

To be completely honesty, I've been sending mixed-

wait... no. This has to be said.

"To be honest with you, I know I've been sending mixed messages. I see that now. But it was only because there's a lot I'm unsure of. I'm sorry it's confusing you, but I've been so confused myself this past week. And to be, absolutely, COMPLETELY honest with you, Alex Russo, I don't know if I wanna be friends."

This perks her interest.

"If you wanna be just friends, and go to movies and make fun of your siblings and wreck havoc every day, then I wouldn't have it any other way! I'm perfectly happy with that."

She smiles and giggles a little. "If I wanna be _just friends_?"

She wasn't near crying now, on the bright side.

"Last Monday, the way I felt..."

"Wait!" She stops me, mid thought. She looks around the room quickly, and at first I didn't get it. Then I remember we're in the center of our school cafeteria. "Stevie I don't wanna talk about this here. There's been so much confusion and if we continue like this, how can we be sure we're on the same topic at all?"

"Say no more." I nod. I pull her behind the kitchen counter and teleport us to my box castle.

"Whoa!" She muses.

"I'll give you a full tour later, but right now there's a more pressing matter."

"Right." She nods nervously

"The only reason I avoided talking about it so long was because I wasn't sure how I felt." I could see her tense. "Because..." She flinches slightly. "I wasn't sure if you were in your right state of mind at the time."

I let my voice trail off, and stare at her intently waiting for any response.

She shifted uncomfortably, but still no answer.

"What it really comes down to. What's really going on between us that draws the line between an 'awkward' and a 'bashful' uncomfortable. Were you thinking rationally, at that moment?" I prompt.

She's silent at first.

"I was sincere." She mumbles nervously through her trembling lips, almost looking ashamed of herself.

At first we don't dare look at each other. My hands shook nervously at what this meant for me. I slowly inch off the glove, covering the wounds from my palm which Alex had carved with razor-sharp ice.

****Flashback****

"I love you..." I breathe in shock at the bloody scratches written on my hand.

I return my sight to the girl shivering in the corner of the cave. She grasped a sharp icicle.

"A-Alex"

My eyes were wide and filled with haze. Never before now had I fathomed that Alex Russo...

She peeked her eye open nervously. We store at each other like this for a moment before...

"Aroooo-ROAR!"

The mountain side shook at the thunderous boom. Something told me that whatever made that noise wasn't a starving snow woof.

Both Alex and I shook from the fear. As we approached the cave entrance...

A large white ape stood at the base. A yeti? As the literal beast stomped toward us, hairy fists raised, we figure we better not stick around. Time to make a dive for it, before we and the cave are crushed.

Right as we leap the monster brings his fist down and rocks fall, caving in our only shelter. It begins marching toward us, and I figure we're just about doomed.

"Aroooo!" The woof's sharp cry pierces the air. The entire pack circled the beast, and jumped on it at once, sinking their teeth and claws into its skin.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see the wolf pack." Alex admits, and then looks at me. "How do you think they got here so fast?"

"It's possible they stalked the yeti here."

"Or maybe, the yeti stalked them here?" She offers. "There's a cave on the other side that's on ground level. I saw it last night."

"Then this is the time to check it out! While they're fighting and distracted!" I reason. With that, we rush to the other side of the cave.

We search over the small cavern. There wasn't much room, and not much to search. It just wasn't here.

"So much for that..." She sighs. "Leave it up to a dog to lose its favorite toy."

Dog...

"Alex that's it!" I realize. She jumps. "What if the wooves' didn't lose it?"

"Okay, then, uh, what if?" She questions. "We'd still have no idea where it is."

"But don't we?" I smile. She looks at me confused. "Think about it... whenever we played with dragon, he would lose all his things, right?"

"Well yeah but I still don't follow."

"But he didn't actually lose those things, remember? Because after a while we'd find them in the back yard-"

"BURIED!" She exclaims, then starts kicking the snow around the cave.

Sure enough we discover some lose ground just outside the mountain. We dug as fast as we could, noticing that the woofs were losing their battle. We crammed our frozen fingers into the hard icy ground...

And...

"There!" I rejoice at the sight of the handle of my wand. We carefully pry it out and thankfully it wasn't broken.

Alex raises it from the dirt and it lights up. She smiles and jumps up and down happily.

"Yes!" I laugh in excitement. "We're saved! We're-"

Instantaneously I felt Alex's warm wet lips fall onto mine. It was a spontaneous spark out of nowhere. Heat rushed to my face as I hook my arms around her neck and pull myself closer.

I gasp with anticipation as I stood kissing my best friend in the snow. I smiled against her lips with such incredible pleasure-

Kissing my best friend?

Both of us sling back at the immediate thought that crossed our minds.

I shoot my vision in her direction, my eyes wide with wonder. She had her back turned to me now, but I could still see the red in her face when she peeked over her shoulder. Her cheeks burned from the excitement that overtook her. I'd be lying if I claimed my face wasn't as flush.

"Oh god..." She stresses, her voice cracking terribly.

"Rrrr..." the beast growls, woof fur hanging from its jaw. We both snap out of it as it begins toward us.

I snatch the wand from Alex and raise it accordingly. We vanish instantly.

****Flashforward****

"What about you?" Alex huffs. I take my fingers off my palm, which breaks me from my flashback.

I froze like a deer in headlights.

"From what I understood, you had said you weren't sure how you felt, because you didn't know how I felt." She reminds. "I told you I was sincere, now you tell me what that means for you."

Still frozen.

"For fuck sake Stevie, I've been through hell this past week! I can't tell if you're shy or homophobic or if there's anything in it at all! I've been waiting for you to be able to talk about this and finally when we do I spill my guts out and I can't get one answer from you? _Please_ Stevie!" She begs. "Give me something!"

She was hurting. And it was my fault. But I don't know how I feel about her! I hate to do this to her, but...

"Will a maybe suffice?" I wince.

"...Maybe what." She says, trying to keep her patients.

"Maybe... I like you. And... maybe I'd even like exploring these feeling with you."

I could tell by her smile she didn't wanna get her hopes up, but couldn't help feeling a little happy.

"Just, maybe." I contemplate.

She tries to nod nonchalantly, but it isn't working.

"I just don't know what's going on with me, I've never been this close to anyone in my life, and I just transferred here. What I mean to say is, it's all just happening so fast."

"It's alright!" Alex assures me, unable to contain her happiness any longer. She takes my hands.

I store into her eyes.

"I promise you if you give me a chance, we can take things slow. This is all very new to me too, trust me, but that that doesn't change the fact that I wanna explore these feelings too."

At first I'm stuck again, but slowly nod, cautiously taking in everything she's saying.

"We've had so many adventures together, Stevie. You've been by my side through every thrilling moment, so...

Why should it stop here?"


End file.
